Netflix was excited earlier this month to announce that its content is now available almost anywhere in the world. However, China, however, continues to lock out the streaming site.

Netflix's CEO Reed Hastings said on Tuesday that the company has been meeting with Chinese regulators trying to get the service to the country, CNet reports.

"It may be soon that we have a license in China, or it may take a couple years, but we're going to be very patient," Hastings said at the Digital Life Design Conference in Munich, Germany, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Might Not Happen Right Away

Hastings hinted that Netflix could be available in China soon, but he realized that it could take some time.

"We're looking forward to a time, a decade or two decades from now, when the Chinese middle class will want and embrace the kind of content that we have," Hastings said.

Alibaba Offers Streaming Content

Citizens in China do have their own streaming service offered from the e-commerce company Alibaba. Alibaba provides streaming programing through the Tmall Box Office, which launched in September.

China Still Finds a Way to Access Netflix

Even with Tmall Box Office, Chinese citizens still want Netflix. Research from GlobalWebIndex shows that there are over 20 million people in China who are able to access Netflix by tricking the system through the use of a virtual private network (VPN). With the use of VPNs, users can disguise the country they are accessing Netflix from. Netflix announced recently that they will be cracking down on VPN use.

A year ago Hastings said Netflix was looking into options for getting China access to the service. He said Netflix would need to "get a license" for China, but was not sure if they would be able to accomplish the task.

Apple Did It, Can Netflix?

Tuesday, Hastings said that Apple's dealings with China shows that patience pays off. It took Apple six years to negotiate and make the needed deals to bring the iPhone to China. Patience will pay off if Netflix can bring its services to China.